When treated with Bu2SnO in a suitable solvent, reducing sugars preferentially form 1,2-O-stannylene acetals and, on prolonged treatment with a slight excess of the reagent at reflux temperature, they undergo epimerization. This allows simple preparation of rare monosaccharides from readily available, unprotected starting materials. The process is equilibrium driven, and the equilibrium is shifted largely in favor of structures having an axial hydroxyl group at position 2.